Avalanche's Tyson Barrie out four to six weeks, injured by knee from Wild's Matt Cooke

Denver Post | Apr 22

With Tyson Barrie expected to miss four to six weeks with a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee, the question becomes: Who replaces him in the Avalanche lineup?

Coach Patrick Roy said after Monday's 1-0 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild in Game 3 that he will take the next two off days to decide. Right now, his options come down to Stefan Elliott or Ryan Wilson.

Elliott has more offensive ability and might make more sense to replace the two-way presence of Barrie, but with the series turning more physical, Wilson could get the nod.

Either way, the Avs lost a key player in Barrie, who was injured on a knee-on-knee hit from Minnesota forward Matt Cooke in the second period.

Duchene skating. Matt Duchene was back in uniform with skates on Monday. It was a practice uniform, and he didn't play in Game 3 against the Wild, but it was encouraging.

Duchene skated and handled a puck for at least 15 minutes during the team's morning skate, though he did not participate in any team drills.

It was the first time Duchene skated with the team since March 29, when he suffered a knee injury.

"The trainer thought it was good timing for him to start skating today," Roy said. "We'll go day to day with him on the skating, and then hopefully he can start practicing with the team."

Also, Roy said third-line center John Mitchell (concussion) has resumed off-ice exercises and strung a couple of good days together in his recovery. The Avs hope he can be back on skates soon. Mitchell traveled with the team to St. Paul.